


When the Weight was Gone

by OhanaHoku



Series: Whumptober 2020 Prompts [11]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Arc Reactor Angst, Crying, Friendship, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, No Arc Reactor, October Prompt Challenge, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Panic Attacks, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Short One Shot, Struggling, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tumblr Prompt, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, no.11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:54:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27028423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhanaHoku/pseuds/OhanaHoku
Summary: Tony has the arc reactor removed, but he's struggling to remember that. Thankfully, the team is there to help.Day Eleven of Whumptober 2020 - Psych 101 - Struggling, Crying
Relationships: Tony Stark & Avengers Team
Series: Whumptober 2020 Prompts [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949965
Comments: 4
Kudos: 127





	When the Weight was Gone

**Author's Note:**

> I'm slowly catching up with Whumptober, I'll get there! Enjoy this one, guys! Triggers in the tags.

Getting the arc reactor removed was supposed to be empowering, relieving, and healing for Tony. It was anything but.

When Tony first woke from the anesthesia they’d given him for the surgery, he was still on the operating table, though the procedure was finished. He took one look at the arc reactor in the doctor’s hand, felt the missing weight of metal in his chest, and screamed, thrashing in panic as he tried to take it back, terrified that the shrapnel was going to pierce his heart.

Once the drugs had entirely worn off, it should have been easier to remember that his reactor was gone, that he didn’t need it anymore, that the shrapnel was no longer in his chest trying to kill him.

But now and then, he’d forget again, his panic returning as he reached for his chest, only to find the metal gone, and the heavy weight of it in his chest missing.

It was now three months after the surgery, with eighteen panic attacks under his belt from finding the reactor missing. But thankfully, he’d been able to hide these attacks from the team, barring the first one that Bruce had learned about from the doctors.

He’s been able to avoid having them in public, and though there were a few close calls at the compound, he managed to hold things together until he was somewhere secluded.

It stayed that way until one night when the team was having a movie marathon. Tony hadn’t had one of his attacks for almost a week, so he was feeling pretty good, joining the team for one of his favorite activities that he’d been avoiding recently due to his anxiety.

He was sitting on the couch, sandwiched between Clint and Bucky while they watched the second movie of the night, some chick flick that Natasha had chosen, with Steve backing her up, claiming that it was actually good.

It was okay, though Tony found his mind wandering as they watched it. He was running through a list of updates he wanted to make to the team’s equipment when it happened, Tony’s chest suddenly feeling too light. That was usually his cue to get somewhere safe, but before he could, his hand was automatically reaching up to his chest, searching for the arc reactor.

His breath caught as he failed to find the metal casing, panic leaping into his throat and making it hard to breathe. He couldn’t draw in a breath, and it felt just like it did when the arc reactor was pulled from his chest. His chest started to ache, his lungs struggling to pull in air as the shrapnel inched closer and closer to his heart.

“Tony?”

A voice called to him, but it sounded far away. He was shaking now, eyes glazed over as he clutched at his chest, nails digging painfully into his chest over the scarring from the surgery.

The reactor was gone. Someone had stolen it, taken it away. Tony couldn’t breathe, and it was killing him. He could feel the shrapnel moving closer and closer to his heart, ready to pierce it and kill him. He gagged with sudden nausea as his body was turned and pushed back into a lying position, thrashing weakly against the hands holding his wrists because they had to be the ones who took his arc reactor.

A hot pressure built behind his eyes as he started to tear up. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want to die. He needed his reactor back, he needed it, he needed-

A dense weight settled onto his chest, and Tony gasped as he could finally breathe in, the needed oxygen filling his lings. They’d given him the reactor back.

Tony stopped struggling against them, panting as he passed out, exhausted.

Above him, Clint swore, letting go of Tony’s wrists. “Damn, what was that?”

Bruce sighed, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses. “I don’t think Tony’s been handling having the arc reactor removed well.”

“I don’t understand. I thought taking the reactor out was a good thing,” Steve said, glancing at Bucky, who grimaced.

“It’s not that simple. It’s like Tony lost a part of himself.” Bucky said, moving to hold his metal arm with a sympathetic wince.

“A part of him that has kept him alive for several years,” Natasha said. “When this happens, he must think he’s about to die without his reactor.”

Clint frowned. “But what caused it? One second he was fine, and the next, he was hyperventilating so much, I thought his face would turn blue. And what’s with this blanket?” He asked, looking at the soft, gray cover that Bruce had placed on his chest.

The doctor sighed. “I think it has to do with not feeling the weight of the reactor in his chest. He associates it with Obi stealing the reactor, and the weighted blanket I laid over him fooled his mind into thinking the reactor was back in his chest.”

“We should watch over him tonight, make sure he’s okay,” Steve said, and everyone nodded in agreement as they all settled in around the sleeping genius.

They would make sure he got through this trying time of adjustment, and they wouldn’t let him do it alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Word Count - 878. Not my best work, but my time to work on this was limited. Hope you all enjoyed it, let me know what you thought of this one, and have a good day/night!
> 
> [ my tumblr](https://ohanahoku-ao3.tumblr.com/)


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